Service Manager Fostering, Adoption and Home Finding Teams

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About The Role

Job Title: Service Manager Fostering, Adoption and Home Finding Teams
Contract: Permanent
Location: Hereford
Hours: 37 hours
Salary: HC12 £55,594 - £61,655 + £5,000 Market Forces Supplement (£60,594 - £66,655)
Relocation package of up to £10,000 available

Closing date: 20/03/2025
Interview date: 25/03/2025

Come and join us on our Restorative Journey of Improvement to gain the best for children and families in Herefordshire

The Role

Are you a qualified social worker and experienced Team Manager in Fostering and working with foster carers?

We are seeking a permanent Service Manager to drive forward the support to foster carers, adopters and special guardians, as well as supervising the Home Finding team for children. You will be part of a creative and supportive management team.

You will drive the recruitment of Foster Carers for our children, regarding assessments for connected and mainstream foster carers and Special Guardianship assessments. You will lead on and helping to promote fostering for Herefordshire to allow more of our children to be placed locally and maintain their links with their family, friends and school. You will lead the Fostering Support team to support, supervise, retain and promote the voice of our foster carers and uphold the Fostering National Minimum Standards. You will also lead the kinship team to support Special Guardians and Kinship carers.

You will work closely with our Marketing Officer and Communications team who are experts in Marketing and Communications and are really supportive of the Fostering service. It would be beneficial if you have Fostering/ Adoption assessment experience and experience of working with foster carers. Do you have a good knowledge of the relevant legislation and standards for Fostering? Are you passionate about children being supported to fulfil their potential, by recruiting and supporting our foster carers really well?

If you would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact Tori Lynch, Service Director for Corporate Parenting by either phone call, 01432 260866, or via email [email protected]

Closing date for your application is Thursday 20th March with interviews on Tuesday 25th March, which will be held face to face in our Plough Lane office, Hereford.

We look forward to your application and to meeting you.

We Offer

A competitive salary, generous holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:

• Service Manager starting salary of £55,594 - £61,655
• Market forces supplement of £5,000 per annum
• Relocation packages: support of up to £10,000
• Pension Scheme Enrolment in the Local Government (LGPS)
• Professional development: protected time and budget to support social workers develop themselves and their careers.
• Career progression: clear pathways to progress
• Generous Annual Leave: 31 days' annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum
• Flexible working: flexi-time, job-share, part-time hours and, in some instances, home working
• Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling
• Payment of professional membership fees
• Pick your perks - our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts.

About Us

Herefordshire is a beautiful, historic county located in the heart of the Marches on the border with Wales. We are one of the most rural and sparsely populated counties in England with a wealth of unspoilt countryside, distinctive heritage, and lively and attractive market towns.

Our priority in Herefordshire is to keep children safe and give them a great start in life. It's the priority for the council, our partners and for all of us who work with Children & Young People.

How do we do this? By having dynamic, dedicated, passionate and professional staff who work in a culture that focuses on what we can achieve with children, what they can achieve themselves, and the relationship we build with families and partners to enable this. We have invested heavily in training and developing staff in our relational practice approach with our improvement partner Leeds City Council, so it's an exciting time to join Herefordshire - we believe in investing in you so you can be the best you can be!

Herefordshire has a really strong team ethos. Our teams are passionate about the work they do and the positive difference they and the teams they are in make to people's lives. This is all underpinned by the focus and support from their managers and the council as a whole.

We will deliver better support to our most vulnerable children and their families, develop stronger relationships with partners across the region, and beyond.

Come to Herefordshire and join the journey.

Herefordshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children & young people and vulnerable adults. If you are offered this position, it will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service enhanced check and further pre-employment checks.

The following candidates will be interviewed if they meet the essential criteria for the post they are applying for:

• Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the "Disability Confident" scheme;
• Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are an Armed Forces Veteran or Reservist. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant; and
• Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care.

We will deliver better support to our most vulnerable children and their families, develop stronger relationships with partners across the region, and beyond. Therefore, we take our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults seriously and expect all of our staff, visitors and volunteers to share in this commitment.

Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for more details of this role.

To apply, please submit your CV and complete the supporting statement within the application form, referring to the job description & person specification, detailing how you meet the specific requirements of the role.